


Mixed Messages

by glitterbb



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lack of Communication, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-02 15:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14547627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitterbb/pseuds/glitterbb
Summary: Confusion leads to revelations.





	Mixed Messages

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for being MIA for so long. This place has been a bit dead of late, but I found some old notes for a fic and they gave me some brand new Coliver feels. I'm a bit rusty so apologies if it's not quite up to scratch but hopefully SOMEONE’S still reading this stuff??

"So I've been looking at plane tickets!" Connor's voice trilled excitedly.

Oliver took a silent breath as he stumbled across the threshold, allowing the dorm door to swing shut behind him with a loud slam. It had been a long day. A nightmare of a day if he was honest. He'd slept in, he'd been late for his first class, and had then spent the vast majority of the day attempting to recover his near complete assignment from the depths of his hard drive following an unscheduled reboot. Having finally completed and submitted the damn thing thirty minutes past the deadline, he was in no mood to play nice with his roommate, no matter how good his intentions. 

"Plane tickets for what?" He sighed, dropping his bag from his shoulder before flopping down unceremoniously on his bed, not even bothering to kick off his shoes.

"For Christmas?!" Connor tutted with a roll of his eyes, grabbing his laptop and moving to the foot of Oliver's bed. "I was thinking we could go up early this year." He suggested with a casual shrug. "My niece has some Christmas recital on the 21st and Gemma's got us tickets." He explained, tapping on the keyboard, wrapped up in his own excitement. "I know it sounds dull but there's free drinks, plus my ex teaches at my niece's school and I really want to make him jealous."

Oliver's heart sunk, a sense of unease rising in his stomach. This was just what he needed to cap off a shitty day. 

It had started out of convenience. A stupid, dumb arrangement to keep everyone sweet. Oliver needed a place to spend the holidays, Connor needed to convince his family he was capable of holding down a relationship.

Oliver should have known better. He knew lying never paid off, yet Connor had a unique charm, an undeniable knack for getting what he wanted, and in all honesty Oliver could think of worse company. 

Then one Christmas became two, then the invitations to other events started to roll in too. Birthdays, family gatherings, Oliver was even asked to a family vacation. By the time the third Christmas came around, Oliver felt like a fully fledged member of the family, but as welcome as he felt, it broke Oliver's heart just a little bit to know that the Walsh's warm, welcoming embrace was being repaid with lies and deceit. As close as he and Connor had become, his family deserved better. 

"Connor..." Oliver sighed, swinging his legs from the bed. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that." He whispered meekly, wringing his hands together nervously. Connor paused, recognising that face immediately.

"What?" He frowned, leaning forwards, not entirely sure he was going to like what he was about to hear.

"I just..." Oliver tailed off, studying Connor's face, noting the pleading stare tinged with a fearful glint. His large hazel eyes glistened like those of a puppy. Connor could be so damn manipulative when he wanted to be. Oliver wet his lips defiantly. "I don't think I can go with you to your family this year." He croaked, the words tumbling from his lips before he could change his mind.

Connor sat silently, his jaw dropping open, no doubt to respond, yet no sound immediately came out. 

"Oh." The sound was nothing more than a whisper yet it conveyed his feelings so loudly it made Oliver grimace with regret. Connor snapped his laptop shut and jumped up from the bed quickly, shuffling to his side of the room without so much as a backwards glance.

Oliver knew Connor, he'd seen him face disappointment before but this seemed deeper, and the older boy wasn't quite sure how he could fix it.

"I'm sorry..." Connor muttered, punctuating the sentence with a sniff. "I shouldn't have assumed. I just..." He pushed his hands in his pockets, shoulders tensing protectively. "I thought you liked it there?" 

"I do!" Oliver shot back without a second thought. "Oh god, Connor, your family are awesome, but that's exactly why I don't think I should come." He crawled to the foot of his bed to get closer to the other boy without invading his personal space. "I just think we should stop." He sighed, rubbing his forehead roughly. He never expected Connor to take it quite so personally. "There's a guy in my computer science class who I really like and I don't think it's fair to keep letting your family think we're a couple?" 

Connor's head snapped around at a lightning pace. However disappointed he'd looked before paled in comparison to the anguish that seemed to be painted across his face right now. Shock, confusion, heartbreak. Tears sparkled inexplicably in his eyes.

"But I thought we were a couple."

Oliver's breath caught in his throat, suffocating him momentarily. His stomach dropped, and he was pretty sure his heart skipped at least a couple of beats. 

"Wait, what?" He stared, searching for any hint this might be some ill thought out joke, or Connor's attempt at deflection, and yet the stray tear rolling down the younger man's cheek suggested otherwise.

"Christmas Eve?" Connor choked accusingly. "Remember? We slept together. We spent the whole plane trip home cuddled up together. We stayed up at New Year talking til Midnight." His tone grew more irritated. "We went for dinner on Valentines, and your birthday. My god, Ollie, I told you I loved you. You said it back to me!" He spluttered. "What did you think was going on?"

Oliver sat, trying to process the information. Of course he'd noticed the change in their relationship. Connor was sweeter, more caring, more attentive. Oliver had never even questioned it. He just thought Connor was keeping him sweet.

"We were drunk at Christmas." Oliver sighed. "I just thought we were fuck buddies now." 

Connor's eyes widened and he sat forwards, scratching at the back of his head. 

"I haven't slept with anyone else since that night." He whispered, sniffing back his upset. "I thought you knew how I felt." He shrugged nonchalantly.

As roommates went, Connor was certainly a complex one. To outsiders they were a mismatch. Oliver was shy and bookish while Connor oozed confidence from every pore, an undeniable social butterfly. Oliver had struggled to take to the other boy for their first few months as roommates. Sure, he was cute, able to turn any guy to putty in his hands with a look alone, but there was an unmistakable wall around him, carefully crafted to keep anyone and everyone at arms length.

That wall had always made Oliver curious, yet getting to know Connor had been something of a mission. Any attempts to pry were cut short with a sarcastic comeback or a cutting remark, usually punctuated with a smug, satisfied grin but Oliver's intrigue meant he had persisted, and slowly he could feel Connor opening up to him, gradually embracing the idea of friendship.

Their friendship had grown slowly over the years, and as they kept up their lie, Oliver found himself privy to more and more facts about Connor and his life, the wall slowly and surely dismantling piece by piece. Oliver knew his roommate inside out by now, and yet the revelation that he was genuinely in love with him had completely passed him by.

"Connor, we've never spoken about it!" Oliver finally groaned. "Did you not think maybe that was something we should have had a discussion about?" He mumbled, pulling himself up and making tentatively towards Connor's bed.

"I thought I'd made it clear enough?" Connor shot back, rising to his feet. Oliver folded his arms with a roll of his eyes.

"You spent the last three years sleeping around campus and proclaiming that you don't do boyfriends, how is that clear?!" Oliver snapped back sharply, he wasn't taking the blame for this one.

Connor's features softened slightly, the anger bubbling in Oliver's voice clearly having an effect. He looked down, his fingers knotting in the end of his sleeves, teeth biting gently on his bottom lip.

"Yeah, okay, maybe you have a point." He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not exactly the best at telling people how I feel, but I swear Ollie, I thought my actions were speaking louder than my words ever could. I never meant to piss you off."

Oliver smiled, biting back a giggle. He stepped forwards again, moving himself into Connor's space, the younger man's eyes still not lifting to meet his until he felt a warm breath on his cheek. Oliver's fingers laced under Connor's palms, gripping his hands gently, pulling them towards him.

"You're an idiot, you know that right?" He chuckled softly, his thumbs gliding over Connor's knuckles. "Being a couple is about so much more than fucking when you're horny and having dinner on special occasions." He licked his lips gently. "Tell me how you feel." He purred, voice dripping with kindness yet tinged with suggestion. 

Connor swallowed hard, fidgeting from foot to foot.

"All my relationships have been terrible, if you can even call half of them relationships. I'm not good at opening up to strangers because I don't like them knowing all about my fucked up past." He garbled quickly. "I never wanted a boyfriend because it was easier to screw around and keep everyone at arms length." Connor paused quickly, his eyes piercing into Oliver's, deep hazel, flooded with sincerity. "The more time we spent together, the more I started to realise I wanted to try...With you at least." He licked his lips coyly as if embarrassed by his own candour.

Oliver tried to hide his own satisfaction at the admission. He'd never seen the other man quite so vulnerable and he felt oddly protective.

"You listened to me and you never judged me, even when I told you the worst stuff, you just treated me the same. Then you hung out with my family and everything felt so real. Lying about us became so easy that I think I just let myself believe it wasn't a lie anymore." 

Connor looked up, his eyes catching Oliver's, a chuckle finally escaping his lips. "I can't believe I've been planning the first anniversary for a relationship I wasn't even in."

Oliver pulled Connor into his body, wrapping his arms tightly around him in a warm embrace. Connor's arms reciprocated, gripping tightly on Oliver's back.

"I'm sorry I took it all for granted." Oliver whispered in his ear. "I just never thought you wanted anything serious." They pulled apart, Oliver pulling his lips into a smile. "It's not too late to ask though?"

"You wouldn't rather wait and see how it goes with the guy in your computer science class?" 

"Connor!" Oliver's hand playfully made contact Connor's arm, the tension in the room slowly evaporating. Connor pursed his lips slowly.

"Do you want to see if we can make it work for real?" His voice quivered unsurely, a far cry from his usual stoic demeanour. 

Oliver reached out, dragging a thumb across Connor's cheek before their lips met in a soft yet deep kiss. Tongues probing gently as hands wandered erratically across each others bodies. Oliver broke away with an uncontrollable grin.

"I think you better book those plane tickets." He chuckled, before barrelling the younger man down on the bed behind him in a frantic mess of limbs.


End file.
